Cincinnati's retirement system was better funded last year when compared to just five years ago.

The improved results largely stem from a collaborative settlement agreement negotiated with the oversight of a federal judge in 2014, and signed by all the parties in 2015. The deal was reached to help keep the system solvent in the future.

Cincinnati council members spent nearly four hours Tuesday questioning the fund managers and the actuary for the city's pension system.

Some are worried about the fees those managers are charging in relationship to the city's returns on its investments. Council also wants to make sure those managers are making smart decisions based on current market conditions.

Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley has now selected a firm to lead the search for the next city manager. He said during his weekly press briefing Thursday he met with about seven companies before hiring California-based Ralph Anderson and Associates.

He said a representative of the search firm will be in town next week to meet with city council members.

“And help build out a profile for the search,” Cranley said. “He intends to be out there pounding the pavement looking for candidates at the end of next week or the week after.”

Cincinnati Council is ready to endorse a process that would let a federal court mediate a solution to the city's underfunded pension problem. The Budget and Finance Committee voted unanimously Monday for an ordinance to make that happen.

The ordinance would let the city manager negotiate a settlement agreement with various parties on a long-term solution to the pension issue. Right now the retirement system is only 61 percent funded and that will only get worse without some action soon.

A Cincinnati Council member said he had a plan to put the city's retirement system on a path of solvency. Christopher Smitherman introduced his motion Tuesday during a council committee meeting.

One of his proposals is to end the three percent compound cost-of-living adjustments given to most retirees each year. Smitherman would change that to a simple COLA tied to the consumer price index and not exceeding two percent per year. Those adjustments would also be suspended for three years if his plan is approved.

Cincinnati Council could be voting in the next several months on proposals to stabilize the city's underfunded pension system. Some members said the action needs to happen soon, while others said the problem will not be remedied overnight.

The group trying to revamp the city of Cincinnati's pension system says it's submitted almost 16,000 signatures on petitions to put the charter amendment before voters. It needs more than 7,400 valid signatures to make November's ballot. The board of elections still needs to verify the signatures and certify the issue.

"This is a common-sense approach," said Burr Robinson with the Cincinnati for Pension Reform ballot committee. "We can't meet our pension obligations, and the problem only gets worse the longer we stick with this current structure."

Cincinnati Council is opposing a campaign to change the city's retirement system. The Cincinnati for Pension Reform Committee has been collecting signatures to put the issue on November's ballot. Council's finance committee today passed a resolution opposing the effort, saying it's not a solution to the city's unfunded pension liability.

Update 6/5/2013 at 10:20 am: Documents received from the city show the pension system's unfunded actuarial accrued liability as of 12/31/2012 was $862,122,656. That compares with the unfunded actuarial accrued liability as of 12/31/2011 of $728,428,380. That means the unfunded balance increased by more than $133 million during that time.